Thursday, January 7, 2010

Week 2, Part II of my lengthy article, ex po se' The Terror Bombing of Israeli Messianic Teen Ami Ortiz was emailed to my Arrows from Zion mailing list. It is also online at my israelprayer.com website where the full version can be downloaded in a PDF or a partial version (less many pictures) is published on the web....

If you have contacts with other Christian and Messianic LEADERS outside of Israel - please send it to them.

Part 2 Threats Precede Violence

Threats to the Ortiz family had begun months before the bombing as fliers were distributed in the streets of Ariel with photographs of David Ortiz and other Messianic believers warning:

“Citizens of Ariel, Beware!These people are Christian Missionariesthat masquerade as Jewsand belong to a cult called Messianic Judaism."

Like other Messianic Jews throughout Israel, the Ortiz family was used to being targeted by hate speech and also used to exercising prudent caution for the sake of personal security. Several congregation facilities and other properties of believers have been fire bombed over the past decade and threatening speech has almost always preceded the violence.

Friday, January 1, 2010

I have a new 5-part article posted on my web site, Israelprayer.com. Here is the introduction:

ex⋅po⋅séThe Terror Bombing of Israeli Messianic Teen Ami Ortiz

by Donna DiorioDecember 31, 2009 - January 1, 2010

Across Israel – for those who have heard the reports – there is shock and disbelief that a terror attack on a 15-year old Jewish boy in Ariel in March 2008 may have been a case of Jewish terrorism. It is a hard concept for Jews to accept – a horrific act of Jew-on-Jew terrorism.

Having been the victims of such acts throughout the annals of history, to believe that Jews could become exactly like their persecuting enemies is almost unthinkable to most Jews. The unthinkable is not softened by the cold insistence from some that the targeted family is “not really Jewish” because of their faith in Yeshua (Jesus).

Yaakov Teitel, an ultra-Orthodox settler, appeared for the first time in open court December 10th to stand trial for multiple murder and attempted murder charges including the Purim 2008 attack on a Messianic Jewish family which seriously wounded David and Leah Ortiz’ youngest child, Amiel.

The case places several sensitive and controversial issues in public view from the troubling rise of a new Jewish extremism within the settlements to the appalling state of civil and religious freedom protection for Messianic Jews in Israel. It is a case that Israeli authorities might be anxious to see quietly brought to a swift end with the conviction of a deranged “lone wolf” with no greater implications unpacked.

But that is not the truth of this case, as we have learned from 21 months of following the case via weekly input from the Ortiz family.

This article seeks to shed light on why the police theory that Teitel acted without accomplices cannot be correct. It contains details recorded in the real time of the unfolding of events from March 20, 2008 to the present. If the whole story is not told, the trial could actually circumvent justice bringing only one perpetrator to accountability. That would leave his compatriots free to continue their misguided religious mission to exact ‘God’s vengeance’ on those whom they consider detestable enemies.

Donna DiorioDecember 9, 2009 the day Jack Teitel went on trial for the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz.

ex⋅po⋅sénoun1. A public exposure or a revelation, 2. A formal exposition of facts.Index: Full PDF versionPart I –Purim 2008: Haman Visits Ariel An act of religious extremism targets Israeli Jewish believers in Jesus on Purim. ‘Wicked Haman’ is finally busted in October 2009.Part II – Threats Precede Violence Hate speech, harassment and violence lay the buildup to attempted murder against targets with the Messianic community of Israel who are stalked and spied on.Part III – The Family Grapples with the Unthinkable That is, the Ortiz family, the family of indigenous believers in Israel, and the greater family of Israeli Jews – citizens and officials. Part IV – Meanwhile in the Real World What must we do to safeguard innocent people from those willing to commit religious terrorism? Counter terrorism experts are telling, but is anyone listening?Part V – Israeli Justice on Trial What is at stake in the trial of Yaakov Teitel is a hidden spiritual truth. It is one of those trials of God that we often don’t recognize as from Him until after our choices are made and the test is over. In this trial, Israel is also choosing in measure her own future – “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.”